[Zech]

Hi khang_gurl, I've never read this manga before so my view is just based on my understanding on the serial. I'm NOT a F4 fan but i do like MG, not becos of the casts but the sweet romance bet SC and DMS.
Honestly I had my reservations about buying a serial with Vic as the main lead, Barbie's OK not my favourite but can live with her acting. In fact I was deciding between this serial and another( well i ended up buying both hehe...) But for some reason after reading the reviews on this board I decided to give it a shot. And this may sound exaggerating but 5 minutes into the show I KNOW it'll be a great serial. Yes,... cos just within that 5 min... u can tell that Vic has grown has matured and has blossomed into an actor. N the verdict stays the same after watching the entire serial, even now. I can't picture Vaness being casted as Rei, cos I think Vic is the perfect Rei. Give him a chance.
Trust me I was one of those who really didn't think much of Vic's acting skills but have learnt to bite my tongue after this. I dun usually think much of TW serials hehe..but for this I give my two thumbs up! Would like to throw in my big toes as well hahaha....
Try it. U WON"T regret this but u'll regret NOT watching it.
My 2 cents worth.

[Sugar]

ok Zech, I am counting on you Since u said it is good, cause ZZ really ruined it i Love Typhoon... and Barbie ruined it in A chinese ghost story


man they ruined everytehing bawling:

[nausicaa]

Hallo! This serie sounds really good. I want to see it too but I can't make it work. All the torrent files that I found doesn't work. Someone who can help me please!!!!!!!!

[mulan_22]

ZZ looks so hot in this series and i think that he matches the character too...he's really mature now and not the scrawny and fragile member of F4 anymore. i think that his acting in this series is pretty good and everyone who doesn't think he matches this role should all give him a chance (like what someone posted earlier) and you might end up liking it.

[Zech]

Originally Posted by Sugar

ok Zech, I am counting on you Since u said it is good, cause ZZ really ruined it i Love Typhoon... and Barbie ruined it in A chinese ghost story


man they ruined everytehing bawling:

Let me know if u like it sugar! I'd really like to know it from a person who's read the entire manga.
I didn't watch I love Typhoon but dun worry Barbie isn't as stupid and dumb as she was in A Chinese Ghost Story. And the rest of the cast is worth watching for too!

[liza_ng]

Hello,

I am liza, I have watched the first two episodes, and after that I couldn't download it any where, I live in Holland so it won't be showing here. I have to download it, because buying is way to expensive.

Does anyone know where I can download it, and I tried the torrent files, but it somehow doesn't want to work. Help me?

thanx, liza.

[SportyYetChic]

all i can say is that THERE'S A LOT OF KISSING SCENES HERE!!!

i hate vic's hair coz he looks like a lion.. he always gets this tough looking characters in all of the tv series he's into (except for the poor prince)
he's gloomy eyes were kind of cute though..

why the heck is barbie hsu the girl here?? she's too old for vic..

[babyblues]

heehee. I don;t mind the kissing scenes

How old is Barbie anyway?

[lie_07]

Well ... I have finished watching this drama and it really has lots of HOT kissing scenes. The essence of the story is but

Originally Posted by SportyYetChic

why the heck is barbie hsu the girl here?? she's too old for vic..

I with sporty ...

[SportyYetChic]

barbie is five years older than vic.. she even mentioned in an interview when they went here in the philippines that vic is his godBROTHER..

[Sugar]

Originally Posted by liza_ng

Hello,

I am liza, I have watched the first two episodes, and after that I couldn't download it any where, I live in Holland so it won't be showing here. I have to download it, because buying is way to expensive.

Does anyone know where I can download it, and I tried the torrent files, but it somehow doesn't want to work. Help me?

thanx, liza.

well actually, there is a site for F4 called Faithful4ever. and if u join the forum, u woill get info on where to download. I haven't tried because I don't know how to work those torrent files

[OrangeDew]

This was posted by blackmadonna (a non zaizai fan) after there was chaos going on in the GMA thread of Tsinoy. A battle between detractors of MARS and MARS fans as to how MARS should be aired in GMA (the tv network that got the rights to air mars in the Philippines).. Thanks a lot BlackMAdonna


A Clarification on Mars and God Mars
A review by BLACKMADONNA of Tsinoy.com

Mars Manga

Mars is a 15-volume Shoujo(girl's) manga (Japanese Comic) series created by Souryuu Fuyumi and was published from 1996-2000. Mars is one of the best selling shoujo manga in Japan and according to Kevin Rodriguez, a reviewer in The Comic Book.com. "When 'Mars' was originally being published in Tokyopop's now defunct girl magazine, everyone thought it was one of the greatest shoujo that had been written." (Click if you want to read the review) And because this manga is so popular, there are a lot of Mars fansites created in the net. Here's a link of one MArs fansite: http://www.unattainable.org/mars/main.html

Why is Mars one of the best selling manga? Is it because it's a typical teen love story? No, this is not your typical sappy teen love story. This is what MARS is according to Lianne, another reviewer. "Oh Look, We're in Love, Isnt that Nice? *stab**hand**suicide*". *”. ( link for the complete review by Lianne: http://www.sleepisfortheweak.org/reviews/mars/ ). Mars is different according to Ravenwings of X111 website, "because of the amount of violence in every volume (not that I'm complaining). In volume 1 we see death threats, teachers with less than honourable intentions and so forth, and by the 2nd and 3rd we see two people commit suicide. Those poor people, right? The manga is not only about a young (and rather different) couple, but how they manage to keep their relationship going throughout the many incidents that happen involving first Rei's odd past and then Kira's.” (http://www.ex.org/4.2/26-manga_mars.html)

To those who want to read this manga out of curiosity, here's a link of the translation of the 15 volumes of MArs-> http://www.geocities.com/daisykippyrain/marsintro.html

God Mars and my apprehensions

It's been a long time since I've read Mars - 2 years before it was adopted by Taiwan and made a series out of it. I am obsessed with this manga; I even collect wallpapers and fanfictions related to the series. So when I learned from a friend who's a Zhou Yu Min (Vic Zhou) fan that he'll be playing the role of Kashino Rei (male lead character) in the screen adaptation of Mars, I was really horrified! (Million apologies to the Vic Zhou fans.) An F4 playing my favorite angsty bishounen (pretty boy)?!!!! NO WAY?!!! I had doubts that Zhou Yu Min and Da S will be able to give justice to the roles, but when I found out that it's going to be directed by the critically acclaimed director of Meteor Garden 1, I was pacified. I hoped that under his strict guidance he may be able to squeeze out decent acting performances from Vic Zhou and Barbie Hsu. I was glad when I learned that the production team of God Mars really tried their best to be faithful to the manga; they went to Japan to shoot the racing scenes, used special effects and they even made Vic Zhou undergo rigid training under Norick, the no.1 motorcycle racer in Japan. To those who don’t know this yet, God MARS is the most expensive drama in Taiwanese TV history. And they indeed succeeded in making GOD MARS faithful to the manga MARS - earning them the praises of its creator. Sensei Souryuu Fuyumi is now endorsing God Mars in the TV networks in Japan so it will be aired there. GOD MARS garnered the approval of many critics in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia (countries where Mars was aired) because of its fast-paced storytelling and the fact that it was created very artistically.

I was satisfied with the screen adaptation of my fave Manga. Before watching the episode where the secrets are revealed, I kept on saying "Geez, I hope I won’t be disappointed. Hope it’s still dark and gritty.” The drama succeeded in depicting the dark and surreal tone of the story. My brother even commented, "It looks like an artfilm, I bet it won't sell much here in the Philippines since the MASSES wont be able to get the plot about psychological perversion and there's a big possibility that the artistry will be compromised." I retorted, "True, I even wished that no one bought the rights to show it here, cause there's a big possibility that it will be bastardized with poor dubbing and they might cut the graphic scenes or they might prejudice it because it stars an F4 member or worse they would place this on the same level as those TV series which have very predictable and illogical plots." They might corrupt it and create a hype out of it then earn big bucks then be branded as a "SELL OUT" after a few months.

God Mars Bashing?!!

Overall, God Mars is an outstanding Asian production so how come there are a lot of people here in the Philippines who don’t want to watch it? They don’t want to watch it simply because Vic Zhou and Barbie Hsu are its main leads and detractors have this misperception that MARS will yet be another shallow or teeny bopper series or just a continuation of the somewhat love story of San Cai and Hua Ze Lei. Please read the manga or watch the drama first before you pass judgment. I now have a deep respect for Vic Zhou because of God Mars because he has the guts to take risks on his career. In God Mars, he proved that he can be edgy. He even shocked most of his fans with the smolderingly hot make-out scene. I did not expect the scene to be so graphic... yup, the hips of Vic Zhou really moved during the make-out scene and if only they were naked with his partner, one would have thought that it's really a pumping scene.

Please don’t bash Mars the Drama without even seeing it or reading its manga version. I know that many of the bashers of God Mars are men and probably most of them watch anime, but do they know that Ruruoni Kenshin (Samurai X), Slam Dunk, Fushigi Yuugi, Flame of Recca, Hunter X hunter, and Yuyu Hakushu (Ghost Fighter) are originally mangas? Probably not. Mars is no different from these popular series. The only difference is that Mars was not made into an anime and it delves into more serious and sensitive issues like insanity, suicide, rape and sexual harassment, sex and homosexuality.

God Mars on Daytime?

God Mars has so many graphic scenes so I'm one of the many who are requesting for its primetime airing. There's a big possibility that a seven year old kid would be able to watch these scenes without adult supervision: a rape scene, a mother strangling her child, two lovers passionately making out and making love, a woman and a teenager committing suicide, a teacher sexually harassing his female student and a mentally deranged homosexual stabbing the subject of his obsession, and a boy pointing a gun to a bully. This is a consumer advice that was made by Kevin Rodriguez in The Comic Guy.com for the manga version,"Despite the fact that this series is rated Teen, parents will want to consider previewing this book before deciding whether or not this book is for kids. Since this is about romance there is a lot of talk about sex, one couple DOES have sex in the book. (which includes mild nudity), there is talk about rape, suicide, and gangs also in this book! Unless your child is old enough to understand the seriousness of these topics, then it might be wise to wait until they’re older before letting them read this.” http://www.thecomicbookguy.com/mars.html. For sure it will have problems with the MTRCB (departmentt in the Philippine that rates movies and tv shows according to content) unless it will be aired in a times slot where a few minors(kids specifically) can watch. Que Horror! (**kia kia**.. in zz's term i think ;p ) Please do not delete those scenes cause the artistry and the plot will be compromised.

Don't you think it's logical that before they prejudge (bash, prejudice) a thing, they must have looked (examine, gone through) into it first? It will be fine with me if you bash the plot of MARS after you have read it or after you have seen God Mars, that's your right. In the end, I don’t care if God MArs will not be a hit here in the Philippines. I’m not expecting it to be a hit in the Philippines because the plot of MARS won’t appeal to the masses. I heard rumors that it was first offered to ABS-CBN but GMA doubled the offer of ABS-CBN, therefore GMA got the rights to it. I think that some of the ABS executives have doubts that it will be a hit here. As I've said I really don’t care if it will become popular here or not, but for us fans of Shoujo Manga MARS, this is one of the most intriguing and thought provoking manga ever to come out.... Domo Arigato Gozaimasu.....

P.S. Gomen (sorry) if ever I placed erroneous facts on GOD MARS (the drama).

Translated by Freakazoid of ZAIZAICRIB,Vicpower, and Zaiwan-Tsinoy

[OrangeDew]

The best praise that the series has generated came from the author of the manga, herself, Fuyumi Souryo:

[Taken from Yes! Magazine (27 October 2004)]

Although several people have already expressed admiration for Zai's performance in Mars, this - coming from the author herself - is the best one so far. Who is better to give affirmation of Zaizai's profound and sensitive portrayal of Ling than the person who knows the character best? The one who 'created' Ling in the first place - Fuyumi Souryo.

"After watching it once, I think that it is so much better than I previously expected. I believe that fans of Mars (the manga) will also be extremely pleased and satisfied with it. Playing the lead character of Ling is actor Zhou Yu Min of Taiwan's most popular band F4, and he portrayed it exceptionally well. Other actors are also very outstanding. Every characters were drawn very faithfully by the actors. I'm very impressed."

She then proceeded to strongly recommend it to Japanese TV stations, and then requested them to broadcast Mars.

Translated by grendel of http://www.vicpower.net/

[Zech]

Sorry Liza know nuts abt the torrent files can't help.

I think after Mars, the pressure will be on Vic Chou. Cos the public and of course those who had watched MArs (like myself) will be looking out for his next piece of work, be it movie or serial. I hope he n his management company will ensure that he'll take on better and more challenging roles not the typical pretty face kind of roles.

[Leyy18]

Although several people have already expressed admiration for Zai's performance in Mars, this - coming from the author herself - is the best one so far. Who is better to give affirmation of Zaizai's profound and sensitive portrayal of Ling than the person who knows the character best? The one who 'created' Ling in the first place - Fuyumi Souryo.

"After watching it once, I think that it is so much better than I previously expected. I believe that fans of Mars (the manga) will also be extremely pleased and satisfied with it. Every characters were drawn very faithfully by the actors. I'm very impressed."

Da jia hao! I'm new here

I believe that this is the best compliment, coming from Fuyumi Souryo. My 2 cents worth, God Mars definitely went beyond my expectations. And zaizai's exceptional performance was surprising coz in this series he was daring, bold and passionate, a far cry from his past series. The direction and cinematography was superb.To those you haven't seen Mars, the series, give it a shot it might surprise you.

And yes, Zech ( hello, i'm new here I hope that the management will be careful in choosing the next project for zaizai.

[Carmein]

i've finished watching mars about 2-3 weeks ago?..oh my..that was so nice..i totally love it!!..i'm a f4 fan and i love all f4 dramas...but i have to say that mars is the best hero drama for now after meteor garden..i'm gonna watch it again after my finals, definitely will.. :0) and the mangas were really nice too!!..i've printed out the mangas b4 watching mars...so, i knew what will happen b4 watching mar...but i have to say that mars is really great..enuff said..

[sarsh]

yup just finish having the whole series on vcd and th makin n mtv

[tinyblueangel]

i've always visited spcnet to read reviews on dramas but i never really came to the forum until recently and i'm glad i did because i was reading all the post in this thread and i really enjoyed reading all the analysis. i'm not very good with analysizing stuff and the analysis you guys gave helped me to look even further into the story =D

i am one of the owners of faithful 4ever so i'm a f4 fanatic and i like zz the most. (lisa you can ask me questions about bit torrent if you are having trouble with it & nausicaa i think there are still some people sharing at d-addicts.com) so as a fan i enjoy their dramas but to tell you the truth i found that most of the dramas they have been in were just ok with the exception of MG and Mars. some of the ones that were based on mangas were a bit exaggerated and too unrealistic and i really wouldn't have watched it if it wasn't because of f4.

when i learned that zz will be acting in mars which is also adapted from a manga, i found a site online that has summary/translations of the manga and i really loved it. Fuyumi Souryo did a very very good job. however like most of you i was also worried about whether or not zz will do a good portrayal of this role because this role is different from his previous roles and it's a complicated role. but zz did a fantastic job and passed my expectations. i'm hoping people can give the drama a chance ^^ i'm hoping you'll like it sugar =D

the drama followed closely to the manga but the drama isn't as dark and gloomy as the manga because it would probably violate some rule in taiwan and they wouldn't be able to broadcasted. a few violent scenes in the manga weren't included in the drama and some scenes (like when ling's mother tried to kill ling) was not shown on TV but was included on the vcd. they also changed ling's mother's death to just cutting her wrist instead of hanging herself because that would probably be too much =/ there were some scenes that were cut out that i wished they included and some scenes that were changed slightly but overall mars followed closely to the manga and is really something worth watching.

well i think i've written a lot already =P i'm going to try and upload the NG scenes for you guys because they are very funny. from what i know there might be more NG scenes added when the DVD comes out.

[MikaMiire]

i've only read a few pages of the manga. i'm one of those people who prefer live action. and after watching the series, i think it's excellent. as a fan, i don't mind people criticizing mars at all. except i only think it's valid if people do that when they haven't seen it. people who haven't are only making assumptions. and if people don't like live action adaptations of manga, there's something they can do. they can..not watch them. as a fan of manga, you don't need to be concerned with live action conterparts. they're an option. how simple.

i also don't think barbie's age is really important b/c she doesn't look it. i was astounded at her acting and how great it was. i haven't heard that much criticism against her, only here where people said her past preformances were bad. so that has something to do with mars? people are dissatisfied with barbie's acting in mars? i don't understand that i guess b/c she was amazing, even more so than zz, and i'm a fan of his.

i also heard someone say that tong dao was messed up b/c his sexual identity. i sort of agree, it may have caused him some physcological problems growing up. but i think the real problem was people bullying him because he's so effeminate. i think he grew up thinking that people are nasty little heartless b*gg*rs. maybe he had troubles accepting his sexuality but he seemed very comfortable by the time he entered the show. so i think he's fine with sexuality in the end. it's only that he still thinks people are essentially cruel.

i think i understand sheng a lot more now (thank you babyblues!). but why did he write the letter in the first place? was it just so the audience would know? what would have happened if it wasn't even found my someone in the story?

[tinyblueangel]

mars ng scenes (only 25 people can download so download quickly before the limit is reached)

http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=8...58A62162AC2C55

alternative in case 25 ppl download from the first link, this one expires on dec. 7th:
http://marsd.mofile.com/002001236381...NG%20scenes.rm